The Bedroom

Sleep -- I don't get much of it these days, but that doesn't diminish my love for our delightfully, delectably comfortable bed. But while our bed is luxuriously cozy, I need to start focusing on pulling the room together. It just feels a little haphazard right now because I ran out of steam when we were moving in and that happened to be the last room on my list. So, I thought I would share some of my inspiration...







[Images 1/4/7 are from Living Etc.; 3/5 from domino; and 2/6 were just in my files -- anyone know?]

Baby girl did sleep for 9 hours last night, so maybe we are on our way to a consistent full nights sleep??!!

Home

I was unexpectedly a little MIA last week because my sweet baby girl came down with RSV, and we had to spend a couple nights in the hospital. There is nothing like coming home after a few nights away in a not so fun place. And there is also nothing quite as scary as wondering if your baby will be able to breathe, so I am SO grateful for the not so fun place. That said, it is definitely not a place that I'd like to frequent. When we came home Friday evening, the Christmas tree lights were on, and the house was toasty and warm. Sometimes the everyday tasks of housekeeping and mothering can be draining, but after I've been away it all feels so good. I remember sitting in the hospital waiting room with my sick girl thinking, "I would give anything to be cleaning up the Legos all over the floor and making dinner right now." Mostly, though, I missed the men of the house:

my almost 4-yr-old, who insists on dressing himself, and refuses to take off his pajamas before he puts on the clothes he has picked out...

My 5.5-yr-old, whose energy I wish I could have...even just a little bit of it would be nice...

and my sweet Reg, who did an amazing job holding down the fort...

Thankfully, Maggie is doing much, much better now. This Christmas, I am going to give particular thanks for doctors -- I wish I could write her doctors a note or send them something, but I was in such a daze while I was there that I can't remember their names. I remember their faces perfectly, but their names escaped me. All I knew was that they were going to help my baby, and that was all that mattered to me at the time. So, to all you doctors out there, THANK YOU for all that you do for your patients. I am so grateful to see this little face smiling again...

Cabin Fever

Even though our Thanksgiving was wonderful, we did have a little bit of Cabin Fever going on by the end of last week...all three of mine have colds, but my younger was one sick little fella, so we did not do much the whole weekend. I took advantage of all our time around the house, and caught up on the growing stack of magazines on my side table [since I now get in bed at 8:30 there isn't a lot of time for my nightly magazine read/show watching!]. I just finished the September Cookie [I'm also trying to savor this magazine...can't believe it will be no more...], where they featured this beautiful cabin...I'd move-in in a heartbeat!

[See the full slideshow here]

Call of the Wild

Maybe it's the turkey in my fridge that has me thinking about birds, but these bird calls are beautiful. And the packaging, well you know how I feel about good packaging...I think I'd buy one for the box and diagrams alone!

They even have a Christmas set that includes calls for the turtle dove and partridge:

More Than Meets the Eye

I was reading Nelya's oh-so-inspiring blog last week, and she mentioned that she spotted a Banksy while in New Orleans. I went to check out his website, and was so inspired by his art. Some of my faves:





I wish we could get a wall in our house "Banksy-ized!"

Creative Space

Today, I am all about inspiration for my work space...



[above images from Living Etc.]

[image from domino magazine...sigh...]

Do you get as curious as I do about other people's offices? The folks at Martha Stewart posted a feature about their offices -- very fun to take a look around!




[This is my kind of office...I'll bet the owner of this office knows exactly which pile contains what. That's how I operate, and Ben is always amazed when he asks me for something and I go directly to the pile of papers it is in -- mess with my piles and we've got problems!]

My New "Diaper" Bag

We made a pit stop at American Apparel this weekend where the boys played hide-and-seek in the clothing racks...



...and I picked up this bag [I bought the caramel with caramel straps] that I've had my eye on. With all the stuff I lug around for three kids, I needed a bag that was virtually weightless and with an opening that made it easy to access the contents inside.

This one fits the bill pretty well, even though technically it's a laptop bag. And for $34 you can get one if every color! My aching shoulder is thanking me today!

What's Cooking?

Maybe, just maybe, I could be persuaded to get back in the kitchen if I was cooking from these recipe cards...

[from Paper and Inkling / $4 for a set of 8 cards]

Not Your Mother's Dollhouse

I loved my dollhouse growing up. It was probably my favorite toy, and I've got it stashed away at my parents, waiting for the day that one of my own becomes interested in it. But they've come a long since I was little. Most recently, Minimii has commissioned a mini replica of Arne Jacobsen's own 1928 house.

And what might a house like that be furnished with? Not your average frou-frou settee, but Egg and Swan chairs. And each lamp in the house has it's own lithium battery.

Way Too Cool

Did you catch the T Magazine this Sunday in the NY Times? There was a section on School Architecture called Cool for School, and the above school was featured. It's the Gina & Sharp-designed Holmes Elementary in Darien, Connecticut. The image was taken in 1952 by Ezra Stoller. My favorite part is the coat-rack cubbies out in the hallway. And the light fixtures. And the windows.

On My Wishlist

The Instax MINI by Fugifilm...it produces instant polaroid-esque images. The boys would love it as much as I would!

Inspired By

I'm consistently inspired by the clothing designs, catalog and store displays at Anthropologie. I just received the November catalog, and this time was no exception. While I was flipping through it, I realized how much I was enjoying just looking at it, like each section was a mini art exhibit. Here are some of my favorite images:




And if I were to buy something, it would probably be one of these:

[Longest Night Dress]

[Skirted Peacoat]

Go Gap

Guess who has a new collection for GapKids...

My favorite is the outfit with the pink tutu...check out the entire collection here. I do have one question, though -- is that little boy holding a fox?!

To Make You Smile on a Monday...

...Princess Agnes trick or treating Saturday night! As you can imagine, she was the hit of the neighborhood. She was pretty irritated with the whole get-up, but quickly forgot when we got home and there was a Greenie waiting for her.